McThoughts: Detroit SX
By Jeff McConkey
Jeff gives us his thoughts on the Detroit SX…
The Detroit SX went off on Saturday night. It was a pretty technical track which offered different rhythms that made for good racing. The dirt looked a little slippery in spots and had a tough sand section. There were numerous riders hitting the dirt all night, and, unfortunately, it looks like we lost at least 2 stars of the 450 class, for sure, and possibly 2 more riders that we are waiting to see if they can line up for St. Louis.
Early on in Semi #2, Jake Weimer miss-timed a rhythm and Honda’s Trey Canard was already committed. Both guys hit the dirt hard and appear to have suffered broken arms (Trey, lower arm, and Jake, upper arm). In the main event, Weston Peick hit the deck hard and was really slow to get up. As he rode off the track, he had his right leg extended unable to put it on the peg. Later on in the main, after putting in a great ride in 5th place, ‘El Hombre’ Jason Anderson lost control when his foot made contact with the jump face while scrubbing. Anderson hit the dirt hard and his riderless Husky almost cleaned out 4th place Chad Reed.
Let’s hope all 4 of these guys heal up quick and are back in action sooner than later. We can now add these riders to the injured or missing list alongside James Stewart, Ken Roczen, Wil Hahn, Mike Alessi, Josh Hill, Dean Wilson, and Brett Metcalfe. That is some serious talent on the sidelines, and will now allow some new faces to make it into the main events. It was really nice to see #314 Alex Ray finally make his first 450 main, as he has been ‘oh so close’ the last few weeks. Good job, Alex!
Eli Tomac won his 2nd main event of the year. He got a top 3 start and was right on Ryan Dungey‘s rear tire for the first few laps. Tomac made the pass and rode a near perfect race all the way to the checkers. Some people may think Dungey was thinking championship and settled for a safe 2nd, but I disagree. Tomac was just that good in Detroit and nobody was going to challenge him.
In 250 action, Justin Bogle got the monkey off of his back and claimed his first win of the season. He led 15 of 15 laps and was on point. Points leader, Marvin Musquin, did his best, but after a 6th place start, a 2nd place was all he could muster. 250 National Champion Jeremy Martin rebounded for a solid 4th after failing to qualify the previous week in Indy.
Let’s take a look at the results and see my thoughts:
250 East
Justin Bogle grabbed his first win of the 2015 season in Detroit. – Bigwave photo
1st Justin Bogle: Justin was on rails in the main event. He was on point and having a ton of fun. Even the ‘Mighty Marvin’ had nothing for Bogle on this night. Justin now sits 2nd in points, 13 points out of first.
2nd Marvin Musquin: Marvin had a good ride for 2nd. He was a little squirrelly in spots and wasn’t able to make up the time after a 6th place start. You know you are having a great season when your worst races are 2nd place finishes.
3rd Joey Savatgy: Joey had a good ride, but still seems to be off of the pace of the top two. He claimed his first podium since the opening round, and his 2 podiums are the only thing PC has to smile about on the East with (Arnaud) Tonus and (Adam) Cianciarulo on the sidelines.
4th Jeremy Martin: Jeremy had a decent ride for 4th. It’s too bad he failed to make the main last week, as he still had an outside shot at Musquin if anything was to go bad for the Fast Frenchman.
5th Anthony Rodriguez: Anthony had a nice ride for 5th. For a guy that has had issues hitting the dirt a lot, he looked fairly smooth all day long.
6th Colt Nichols: A career high finish for Colt. He looked pretty solid all day, and I am sure he is getting plenty of looks after his back to back top 10’s.
7th Kyle Cunningham: I am still waiting to see Kyle’s blazing speed. I’m just wondering if he is holding back a bit to stay safe and make it to the outdoors healthy?
8th Mitchell Oldenburg: Solid ride from Oldenburg who had to win the LCQ to make the main. I heard earlier in the day that Oldenburg was about 24 hours away from signing a deal to compete in Canada for the MX101 team. Unfortunately for us fans, Mitchell will be filling in for injured Jimmy Albertson in the 450 class down south this summer.
9th Jimmy Decotis: Going into the weekend, I really thought ‘Tha Rippa’ had a podium in him. Jimmy battled hard into the top 10, but a brutal start ruined any podium chances. After tweeting about the open MX2 ride for MX101, Jimmy’s Canadian girlfriend was quick to message saying, “Tell him to give the ride to JD!!” With all the sand tracks in the East, it could be a good fit.
10th Jace Owens: Another solid ride for Jace, and his Seven Gear was looking good like always.
Biggest Stud: My stud is Bogle. He has been good all season long, but he looked extra-good in Detroit. Plus, his mechanic Grant Hutcheson spent sime time up here in Canada working for the old Cernics Monster team and is a super-cool guy.
Biggest Dud: Vicki Golden is my dud, and no, it is not because she isn’t qualifying. I watched Vicki very closely during qualifying. Out of her 17 laps in both qualifiers, I counted barely 5 laps where she was putting in a hot lap. Most of the time she looks to be just rolling around out there. It is very disappointing to see a guy or girl with this fantastic opportunity, not to be giving their all. She receives extra track time and media days which is unfair to others. I don’t care if she never makes a single night show ever, but I’d have a lot more respect if it looked like she was giving her all.
Biggest Surprise: Colt Nichols is my surprise. This kid is good and should be on a team next season.
450 Class
Eli Tomac was on another level in Detroit and took the win. – Bigwave photo
1st Eli Tomac: Eli was on another level Saturday night. I don’t even think James Stewart would have matched him. Great ride for Eli, too bad he is so far out of the championship hunt, 77 points behind Dungey.
2nd Ryan Dungey: Ryan led briefly, but just couldn’t match Eli’s pace. He still rode pretty flawlessly, and is on his way to a well-deserved title.
3rd Cole Seely: Great ride for Cole. I kind of expected him to push to challenge Dungey, but a solid 3rd is pretty sweet for the rookie. I never thought I’d ever say this, but I think Seely will win one soon.
4th Chad Reed: Chad had a good ride for 4th. He was just off the pace of the top guys. Glad to see his recent stretch of hitting the dirt disappear. He had a little luck on his side when Jason Anderson’s out of control Husky almost cleaned him out.
5th Davi Millsaps: Davi is finally starting to look like himself. Glad to see ‘The Duke’ back in the top 5 with a nice ride.
6th Josh Grant: ‘JG33’ has looked very solid the last few weeks. I know he still has that blazing speed in him, but it’s nice to see him being very consistent lately and making all of the rounds.
7th Broc Tickle: Broc had a nice ride to finish 7th after an 18th place start. I was expecting some fireworks for his hometown race, but when you get crappy starts, it’s not going to happen.
8th Blake Baggett: Blake had a solid ride going until he hit the dirt very late in the same place that claimed Canard, Weimer and his best buddy Anderson.
9th Andrew Short: Another great start for Shorty. He got passed 8 times, but I still think he is riding well and doing a great job for the BTO team.
10th Justin Brayton: Good first ride back for Brayton. He will need a few races to get everything back, but this is a good start.
Biggest Stud: My stud is Tomac. He was just unreal in the main event.
Biggest Dud: My biggest dud is all of the injuries. Fingers crossed that there aren’t anymore.
Biggest Surprise: My biggest surprise was seeing a lot of the top guys hitting the dirt. The track was tricky.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts. A big thanks to Adam Enticknap for helping a fella out. The ‘7 Deuce Deuce’ is one of the nicest guys out there. Give him a follow and help him keep the dream alive.
See you in St. Louis…
